Ernie Els reflects on relationship with Arnold Palmer

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Tiger Woods back on the course for a competitive round — even if it is a relaxed one — for the first time since his February car crash will draw all sorts of attention.

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In 1996, Tiger Woods and his father, Earl, shared a vision. The vision was to build a foundation, built on the family motto of "share and care", that focused on positive youth development, junior golf initiatives and supporting educational programs. As father and son, they planned out their mission and goals, dreaming of what TGR Foundation could look like. Twenty-five years ago, while planning the future of the foundation, if one were to tell Tiger that they would have surpassed over 2 million students reached, they may not have believed it. Now, celebrating milestones of 25 years and 2 million students reached in person and digitally, Woods' desire to help underserved youth find their path in life through education has become more than a reality. With TGR Foundation benefiting from the charitable funds raised by TGR Live events, including The Genesis Invitational, the foundation has been able to initiate several programs furthering the impact of student participants. "The milestone of reaching 2 million students represents the work our team has done over the last 25 years to provide holistic support and quality resources that prepare students for success in school and in life," said Gordon McNeill, President and CEO of TGR Foundation. "We're proud of that milestone, and we know that there are still so many students that need the programs we provide." TGR Learning Lab Just 10 years after TGR Foundation had launched, the TGR Learning Lab opened in Anaheim, CA. The Learning Lab was created for students from under-resourced communities to learn STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and to help students in their college readiness and career preparation. Through the TGR Learning Lab, more than 50 courses are offered across five locations, helping to provide education that can be difficult to come by in those communities. Earl Woods Scholar Program The TGR Learning Lab was just the start of the developing signature programs for TGR Foundation. Just one year later, the Earl Woods Scholar Program was put into motion. The program helps serve those who are primarily first-generation students attending college. The scholars are supported through college financially along with internship placement and one-on-one mentoring with a professional. To date, more than 250 students have been supported by the Earl Woods Scholar Program - including Sammy Mohammed, a third-year Computer Science major at Stanford University. Attending Stanford had been a dream of Mohammed's and, with the help of the Earl Woods Scholar Program, this dream came true. "Personally, TGR Foundation has given me the opportunity to fully pursue my passions. I had the opportunity to take summer classes at the TGR Learning Lab as a child," said Mohammed. "These courses nurtured a passion for technology and the sciences, and without them, I'm not sure I'd be studying computer science today. It's incredible how so many people at the foundation are invested in your success. From when I first visited as a child to my time in the Earl Woods Scholar Program as a college scholar, the people at the foundation are incredible, and I'm a better person having met them." Mohammed, whose co-mentor is Woods, feels he wouldn't be where he was today without the influence and support of the foundation. "I think that if there's one thing to know, it's that the people at the foundation genuinely care about your success and will dedicate their time and energy to help you," said Mohammed. "Having people invested in you and your success is invaluable, and the TGR Foundation has some of the kindest and most supportive people I've ever met." Pathways Forward Now, 25 years later, TGR Foundation has launched Pathways Forward - a new initiative to enhance its current education programs while expanding resources to reach additional students on their path to college and career success. The ability to continue the launch of Pathways Forward, even through the pandemic, has been an accomplishment worth celebrating. "Our programs had already begun to provide digital learning programs through TGREDUExplore.org before COVID-19, and the pandemic only accelerated the need and our digital efforts," said McNeill. "We responded immediately, pushing out the offerings that were already available while providing new learning resources and support for students, educators and families as they transitioned to distance learning. By moving all of our programs to a virtual format, we were able to support more students across the country during this time of need." Since the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020, the programs team of TGR Foundation has created more than 85 free online resources in English and Spanish to support remote learning for students, families and educators. With more than a hundred resources offered in total, the foundation has also partnered with Discovery Education to host TGR EDU: Explore - a robust online learning platform for students and educators worldwide. "I know that education and teachers are a huge part of The Genesis Invitational and TGR Foundation. We've seen it become more important for parents during this time," said Max Homa, PGA TOUR player. "It's nice that Tiger and the TGR Foundation do this, especially now more than ever because people are appreciating more and more of what [teachers] do." Additionally, The Genesis Invitational co-hosted a careers in tech panel with the foundation for students as part of tournament week. For educators, meanwhile, the TGR Foundation has expanded its professional development program to provide teachers primarily from under-resourced schools with the tools, resources, confidence and support to transform their teaching practices and prepare students for present and future careers. The foundation also held a virtual educator training workshop - free to all educators in Southern California - as part of the tournament's community outreach earlier this month. While TGR Foundation is celebrating these successes and the milestone of 2 million students reached, there's still a long road ahead as it works toward its mission to empower worldwide youth through education. They're taking it in stride, however, ready for the challenge of reaching the next 2 million students. "The Pathways Forward initiative will allow us to expand our programs and reach more students through inspiring learning spaces, innovative offerings and accessible career pathways," said McNeill. For more information, visit TGRFoundation.org/PathwaysForward.

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